European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Intraosseous (IO) access is used widely as an optional vascular route for critically ill patients. It is still unclear whether the IO access can be used as a source for emergency blood samples. The aim of this study was to systematically review the existing literature on the usability of IO blood samples for analysing the parameters relevant to emergency care. ⋯ The results of specific laboratory parameters were scarce and discordant. The evidence on the agreement between IO and arterial and venous samples is still weak. Existing studies with healthy volunteers and animal models provide important insight into the analyses of IO samples, but more evidence, especially from haemodynamically unstable patients, is needed for wider implementation of IO blood sampling in critically ill patients.